Page 18 of 370
1
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Don’t let
it get twisted.
Pull up on the latch plate
to make sure it is secure. If
the belt isn’t long enough, see “Safety Belt
Extender” at the end of this section.
Make sure the release button on the buckle is
positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly
if you ever had to.
The lap part of the belt should be worn low and snug on
the hips, just touching the thighs.
In a crash, this applies
force to
the strong pelvic bones. And you’d be less likely
to slide under the lap belt.
If you slid under it, the belt
would apply force at your abdomen. This could cause serious or even fatal injuries. The shoulder belt should.go
over the shoulder and across the chest. These
parts of the
body are best able to take belt restraining forces.
The safety belt locks if there’s a sudden stop or crash.
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Page 24 of 370
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on
the latch plate to make sure it is secure. If
the belt isn’t long enough, see “Safety Belt
Extender” at the end
of this section.
Make sure the release button
on the buckle is
positioned
so you would be able to unbuckle the
safety belt quickly if you ever had to.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let
it get twisted.
The shoulder belt may lock if you pull the belt across
you very quickly.
If this happens, let the belt go back
slightly to unlock it. Then pull the belt across
you
more slowly.
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Page 31 of 370

ION:
You can be severely injured or killed in a crash if’
you aren’t wearing your safety belt -- even if you
have
an air bag. Wearing your safety belt during a
crash helps reduce your chance of hitting things
inside the vehicle or being ejected from it. The air
bag is only a~“supp1ernenta) restraint? that^ is, it
works with safety belts but doesn’t replace them.
Air bags are designed to work only in moderate to
severe crash- where the front of your vehicle hits
something. They aren’t designed to inflate at all in
rolloveq rear, side or low-speed frontal crashes.
Everyone
in your vehicle, including the driver,
should wear a safety belt properly -- whether or
not there’s an air bag for that person.
.~
A CAUTXON:
Air bags inflate with great force, faster than the
blink of an eye. If you’re too close to an inflating
air bag, it could seriously injure you. Safety belts
help keep
you in position for an air bag inflation
in a crash.
Always wear your safety belt, even
with an air bag. The driver should
sit as far back
as possible while still maintaining control of
the vehicle.
I
An inflating air bag can seriously injure small
children. Always secure children properly in your
vehicle.
To read how, see the part of this manual
called “Children” and the caution label on the
right front passenger’s safety belt.
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Page 40 of 370
To unbuckle the automatic belt, just push the button on
the buckle.
To
1.
2.
reattach the automatic belt:
Close and lock the door.
Adjust the seat (to see how, see “Seats” in the Index)
so you can sit up straight.
3. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
4. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Don’t
let it get twisted.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure.
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Page 44 of 370
1. Pick up the latch plate and pull the belt across you.
Don’t let it get twisted.
The shoulder belt may lock
if you pull the belt across
you very quickly.
If this happens, let the belt go back
slightly
to unlock it. Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
2. Push the latch plate into the buckle until it clicks.
Pull up on the latch plate to make sure it is secure. When
the shoulder belt is pulled out all the way, it will
lock.
If it does, let it go back all the way and start again.
If the belt is not long enough, see “Safety Belt
Extender” at the end
of this section. Make sure the
release button
on the buckle is positioned so you would
be able to unbuckle the safety belt quickly if you ever
had to.
3. To make the lap part tight, pull down OR the buckle
end of the belt as you pull up on the shoulder part.
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Page 50 of 370
Never hold a baby in your arms while riding in a’
vehicle. A baby doesn’t weigh much -- until a
crash. During
a crash a baby will become so
heavy you can’t hold it. For example, in a crash
CAUTION: (Continued)
CAUTION: (Continued)
at only 25 mph (40 km/h), a 12-lb. (5.5 kg) baby
will suddenly become a 240-lb.
(110 kg) force on
your arms. The baby would be almost impossible
to hold.
Secure the baby
in an infant restraint.
I
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Page 51 of 370

Child Restraints
be sure the child restraint is designed to be used in a
vehicle. If it is, it will have a label saying that it meets
FederaI Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
Then follow the instructions for the restraint. You may
find these
instructions on the restraint itself or in a
booklet,
or both. These restraints use the belt system in
your vehicle, but the child
also has to be secured within
the restraint to help reduce the chance ofpersonal injury.
The instructions that come with
the infant or child
restraint will show
you how to do that.
L here to :ut the Restrad
Accident statistics show that children are safer if they
are restrained
in the rear rather thanhe front seat. We at
General Motors therefore recommend that you put your
child restraint in
the rear seat. Never put a rear-facing
child restraint in the front passenger seat. Here’s
why:
/! CAUTION:
A child in a rearfacing child restraint can be
seriously injured if the right front passenger’s
air bag inflates.
This is because the back of a
rearfacing child restraint would be very close to
the inflating air bag.
Always secure a rearfacing
child restraint in the rear seat.
You may, however, secure a forward-facing child
restraint
in the right front seat. Before you secure
a forward-facing child restraint, always move the
front passenger seat as far back as it will go. Or,
secure
the child restraint in the rear seat.
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Page 52 of 370
A child in a child restraint in the center front seat
can be badly injured by the right front passenger
air bag if it inflates. Never secure a child restraint
in the center front seat.
It's always better to
secure
a child restraint in the rear seat. You may,
however, secure a forward-facing child restraint
in the right front passenger seat, but only with
the seat moved all the way back.
Wherever you install it, be sure to secure the child
restraint properly.
Keep in mind that an unsecured child restraint can move
around in a collision or sudden stop and injure people in
the vehicle. Be sure
to properly secure any child
restraint
in your vehicle -- even when no child is in it.
Top Strap
If your child restraint has a top strap, it should be
anchored.
If you need to have an anchor installed, you
can
ask your Pontiac dealer to put it in for you. If you
want to install an anchor yourself, your dealer can tell
you how to '-do
it.
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